Lessons In Life
by Revolutionnaire Rouge
Summary: SerenaXDarien. Some lessons in life are valuable to remember. Never trust a talking cat. Never let the cafe boy give you relationship advice. And never fall in love with your tutor. Looks like Serena has a lot to learn!
1. Default Chapter

Wow, hey reader(s)! This is the Revolutionary here, with my first real Sailor Moon fanfiction. Lessons in Life is my first Sailor Moon fanfiction in a while, ad the first ever put up on Normally I write and red Yu-Gi-Oh- the story Like the Rain is currently under revision. Lessons in Life is dedicated to Fai-chan, better known to the rest of the world as EightofSwords, and Nan-Chan, or Jade Eye. Of you like Sailor Moon humor, you have to check out Swordss story Subject to Change, although all of her fictions are more than amazing. For those of you that are Subject to Change regulars (Meg-of-the-Moon, Serenity-Hime, and others), please understand that 1) I am not as good of a writer as EightofSwords and 2) this is more romance that humor… anyway, this IS a SerenaXDarien, although it may seem different at first. Oh, and by the way, some names I use the Japanese, and some the English. Just get used to it, because I like it . Okay, enough blabber, on with the story.

Disclaimer: reads off teleprompter I… do not… own… Sailor Moon… What?

Lessons in Life

Chapter One- An Old Married Couple…?

"FREE-E-E-DOM!"

A drawn out shriek echoed down the halls as students began to pour out of the classrooms and into them. A couple of students turned to look behind, but most already knew where the cry came from.

"Outta my way guys!" came another yell, and the students of Crossroads High School all shifted as a set of blonde pigtails streaked through the crowd. Behind the golden streamers came a girl, walking at a slower pace and carrying her bag, occasionally waving or smiling as she passed by a cute upperclassman. A dark haired boy rounded the corner, as the pigtails came speeding towards him. The girl behind started to count…

"Three…"

The boy turned around to wave to a friend.

"Two…"

The pigtails were nearing a pile of books carelessly left on the floor (AN: poor books!)

"One…"

Suddenly, the pigtails flew up, and then disappeared beneath the head line of the snickering students. Two heavy thumps followed, and crash of random school supplies falling against worn linoleum.

"ONDANGO!"

"SHEILDS!"

"_YOU ARE SO DEAD!" _they both screamed.

"Me? What did I do?" the boy stood up, impulsively running a hand through his midnight black hair. He was tall, and loomed above the small figure that was still sprawled out on the floor," You're the one that decided ram into my body!"

The girl with long, blonde pigtails looked up at him, indignant. Her sapphire blue eyes flashed, and she put her fists in her hips, ready for a fight.

"You were in the one that was in the way, you should have been watching where you were walking rather than socializing! Isn't that right you guys?"

No answer.

"You…guys?"

She looked around, only to find the hall devoid of all people but herself, the boy in front of her, and the girl that had been behind her, who was now slowly approaching.

"Lita!" the blonde yelled," Thank goodness you're here! Ya see, this bozo here just ran into me and is now trying to make it all my fault, when really he was the one that ran into me because he was to occupied fraternizing with his-"

"Whoa, Odango Atama," the boy sneered," _fraternizing?_ I didn't think that word was even in your vocabulary! Then again, your vocabulary mainly consists of the words "must" and "eat"."

A bark of laughter suddenly interrupted their arguing, and they both turned to the Lita, who was now half in the ground, clutching her stomach as she tried to keep the giggles down.

"H-honestly Serena- HA! You t-HA two act just like- HA HA HA- an- an old married couple!"

"_WE DO NOT!"_

The two turned glare at each other as the other girl launched into another fit of laughter. Everyone at school, no matter what grade, knew the Devious Duo- Serena "Trip" Tsukino and Darien (I'm-Too-Sexy-For-My-Green-Jacket) Shields. They were bitter enemies, and whenever those two happened to meet, the only thing that came of it was trouble- and maybe some broken bones, depending on if Serena was extra clumsy that day. Serena was a freshman, and Darien a junior, but neither age difference nor gender seemed to affect their spats.

"Yes… yes you do!" Lita was now on her knees, tears streaming down her face.

The two stared at her, quarrel temporarily forgotten.

"Really Kino-san, it's not that funny..." Darien said, confused.

Suddenly, the girl stood up from the ground, now standing a few inches above Darien. She flashed him a goofy grin, and then helped Serena up from the dirty school floor.

"I know," Lita said simply, now completely calm.

The two girls began to walk down the hall – well, half- walk, half-drag, as Lita was forced to pull Serena away from Darien who was still trying to continue the insult-a-thon.

"Great, not only are you a clumsy airhead," Darien called down the hall," but you're friend is psycho!"

Lita just laughed maniacally, before turning back and kneeing Darien where-it-hurts. She flashed him another grin, and then left him crouching in the hall in pain.

linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline

"Wow, so you actually kneed him, Lita?" Rei asked, incredulous.

Serena nodded, causing her pigtails to bob up and down happily," Yea, she did, and it was so cool!"

Ami looked up from the book she was currently reading, to face her enthusiastic friend. Her reading glasses were balanced precariously on the tip of her nose, which only added to her more-than-genius look, which was good, seeing as she was. She cleared her throat, although she had had everyone's attention from the moment she had set down her book.

"Lita, I don't think that you should have done that. I've heard that that specific action…can well…hurt. I just don't think that your actions were justified."

"No way Ami!" Serena exclaimed, her eyes wide," Darien totally deserved every molecule of pain, he's such a jerk!"

"But even still-"Ami said, but was cut off by Rei.

"What exactly does this Darien Shields guy look like?"

Rei sat down at the table, a serious look plastered on her face. The table was covered in a stack of books, from manga to text, and various food items, courtesy of Lita's kitchen.

"Well…" Ami said, biting the eraser of her pencil in calm thought," um… he's in my Organic Chem., Trigonometry, and European History classes, he wants to go to college in America… he's one of the top in his class even though-"

"Ami, I was asking for a physical description, not an educational record."

The bluenette (RR: there we go Fai-chan!) blushed crimson as Lita filled in the gaps.

"He's tall, about my height, with midnight black hair and these dreamy dark eyes. Darien's on the track team and in the kendo club too. He's um… 17, junior. Oh, and like Ami mentioned, he's really smart. But let me tell you Rei, he is a real hottie!"

Serena spat out the fried dough (Yummy, huh Fai?) that she had half chewed, it landed on one of the pages of Ami's open book.

"WHA? LITA, ARE YOU CRAAAZZZYYY? Darien Shields is THE BIGGEST JERK in the WORLD!" Serena yelled, her face turning redder with each word in anger.

"Well, I didn't say he was a nice guy," Lita said," I mean, I did knee him an' all"

Rei shrugged, and then put a finger to her chin.

"I dunno. He sounds interesting."

linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline

"Wow, so she actually kneed you Darien?"

Darien nodded, and sighed. He was at the arcade, talking to his best friend, Motoki, who ran the café part of it.

"Poor guy," Motoki said, while wiping of the countertop for the eighth time that past hour (RR: he does that a lot in ff.)," I know Lita pretty well, she's one tough chick. You shouldn't have provoked her like that."

"I know," Darien replied, dropping his head down and holding it in his hands," But there's just something about her- and all her friends, that jus stands to be provoked. Especially Serena – she's the reason Lita was there at all. I don't know Motoki… there's just something different about all of them… different from you and me."

"Um, maybe the fact that they're girls?" Motoki said, with a laugh. Darien looked up at his friend, but didn't reply. Motkoi finished wiping the counter and then came around and sat on the stool next to his friend. "You know, you really need a girlfriend."

Darien shot up, and looked at his friend like he had suddenly turned into a tortoise," What? Are you crazy? You know I don't have any time for a girlfriend! And besides, all of the girls I've met are deranged!"

"Oh yea, you don't have any time because you're too busy what… studying? Sulking in your apartment? Darien, seriously, I worry sometimes. You don't go out at all,

you don't have a social life outside of school, you don't have a girlfriend- nothing. I mean yea, school is important, but so is the real world!" Motoki stared at his friend, eyes flashing in a mixture of worry and anger.

Darien's temper flared at his friend's words, but he kept his voice calm," Motoki, you just don't understand. I just don't have the time to socialize a lot. I have a lot of school work that keeps me busy." _Not to mention the fact that my night job consists of running around town in a tuxedo, throwing roses, and saving the prettiest super hero in the world. Sailor Moon…_

Voila, j'ai fini! And for those who don't speak French this is the end. It's over. This is the point of no return. Well, at least until the next chapter. I'll continue if I get some reviews. Please, don't send me any flames, otherwise my paper heart will bleed… well, burn I guess, but anyway, don't. But please, feel free to constructively comment! Ok, that's all, see ya next chapter!

Oh, yea. about the lines… I'm not smart enough how to get a line to actually work on FF, so I just used a line of "lines". Well, that and the whole concept is amusing to me. Anyway, I have Microsoft word, and if anyone out there can tell me how to get a normal line to work, I would be eternally grateful!

Okies, peace out,

RR


	2. Like Melted Candle Wax

Bonjour, its RR here with the Second chapter of Lessons In Life. Honestly, I was a little saddened that I only received four reviews from the last chapter HOWEVER they were great reviews, so that makes me feel better. Five, I guess, counting EightOfSwords, but seeing as I get my reviews via the bus, it doesn't show up on the stats. Oh well. Actually, I started this chapter right after I posted the first one, so, some changes suggested that I may make, won't show up in this chapter. Either way, I think that this chapter is a lot better than the first (not to mention longer), hope ya'll agree. In response to the lover-ly reviews I did get:

princess-nav- Arigato! You were my first reviewer, and I hope I didn't take too long in updating. Schools a drag.

SilentAngel101- Thanks, it's nice to be compared to Sword-chan (after I met her, I developed some writer's self esteem problems, lol). I'm really glad you think so, "brilliant" is a lovely word, merci. I realize that there hasn't been any romance this far, but this chapter should take care of that. As to the whole, sounding like you're friend, well, if she's anything like me, she's not just slightly strange, but completely crazy. Not to say that she's anything like me, lol. Anyway, I've done the same, watching the lines on the road pass by from the comfortable height of a yellow limousine…

Alicia Blade- I'm honored that you reviewed me, Sword-chan has told me about you! Like I said to Silent Angel, the romance starts here. I'm not sure what I'll do with the names. I just have a preference on names- I like "Serena" over "Usagi" and "Ami Mizuno" over "Amy Anderson" (it just sounds very harsh, Amy Anderson), and I don't like either "Makoto" or "Mamoru" that much either. I don't know why, that's just how I function. Oh well.

Poisonmoon- Hopefully you continued to this chapter! With your review, I wasn't sure if the amounts of hostility would turn you away, the last thing I want to do is lose a reader. As for the hostility, on my defense, I used it to set up the fact that Serena and Darien don't get along at all, which will be a very big contrast to the Moon/Mask relationship in this chapter, as you'll read. Also, I wrote the chapter at about 3 AM over Spring Break. Some spontaneity is to be expected. I do think that I had a little too much OOC in the first chapter, but I can also say that, I have, honestly, not seen an episode of Sailor Moon since the 7th grade. Much of what I write is going off of the 4 year obsession I had with Sailor Moon, and the bits of refreshing I've done by reading fanfiction. I think this chapter will be a little truer to the characters we all know and love.

Red-Rose18 – Merci beaucoup! Here's your update! I'm working on the lines…

Sailormoonhannah- WOW. Thanks! Finally updated, I'm glad you think so!

EightofSwords- Well, you've already read this, although I have made some changes. Thanks for reminding me of the fact that Lita does not wear a pink hair ribbon. I really need to go back and watch a few episodes... Oh, and I double spaced like you said. The doubled length of the story makes me feel better.

Disclaimer: If I owned Sailor Moon, I'd be out making money rather than sitting at home writing fanfiction and avoiding biology homework.

Lessons In Life

Chapter Two- Like Melted Candle Wax

a.k.a Nitrogenous Bases

It really was a stunning night. The sky was clear, revealing a full set of sparkling stars and a happily grinning crescent moon. Warm air gently caressed Sailor Moon's arms, and a slight breeze made her long golden locks flutter. Almost like something out of a romance novel.

A romance novel that included being attacked by a hideous youma who was ready to rip Sailor Moon's head off. Sailor Moon dropped and rolled as the youma shot a dangerous looking piece of clothing her way, and the got back up again to face it.

_It's not so much a youma as it is a tacky postcard gone seriously wrong, _Sailor Moon thought as the beast came lumbering her way. The thing was large- no, more than large- obesely huge, more so than a human could ever be. It green in color with really sharp, but well manicured nails, and wore very tight, very revealing clothing, which were almost covered by the large rolls of fat that made up her body. The youma was like a melted wax from a candle that was dripping down and piling up. If it hadn't been well… a youma, Sailor Moon would have expected it to be pictured on one of those postcards people buy at major tourist attractions- the ones with the very large ladies in bathing suits, lounging on the beach. Blech.

"Sailor Moon watch out!"

On well trained reflexes, the star struck Champion of Justice jumped up, amazingly, onto the cloth overhang of the nearby fashion store. She looked down to her companions: Sailor Mercury, Jupiter, and Mars, whose attentions were on the surrounding, slightly less powerful youmas who were accompanying the load of lard.

"I'm okay!" she shouted to her friends," Mercury, keep going!"

Sailor Moon jumped down and faced the youma again, while Mercury began to call out.

"Who were the two scientists who determined that DNA was genetic material?"

The over weight demon sent a flaming miniskirt flying in Sailor Moon's direction, she ducked and slammed the youma back with a roundhouse kick.

"Um… Hershey and Chase!"

"Right!"

Sailor Moon pumped her fist up to the moon in victory, then kicked one of the lesser youma's out of her way. Sailor Moon… or more commonly known to the waking world as Serena Tsukino, has a lot to deal with. Youmas, for example. They always seemed to attack the night before Serena had a big test. _Like it even matters_, she though grimly,_ I'll probably fail the test with or without the help of these Dark Kingdom dorks!_ That was another thing, the Dark Kingdom, and their search for the Silver Imperium Crystal. These guys were no good, so it was HER job to get the Crystal first, find the Moon Princess, save the world, yada yada yada… Not only that, but she still had to go to school, and deal with grades like D's, detentions, and, worst of all, Darien Shields. _There should be like, special "Sorry, Had to save the world so I couldn't finish my homework or even get the recommended eight hours of sleep" late passes or something. Seriously, super heroes have to do it all! _

"Next" Mercury yelled after taking out a youma," what are the components of nucleic acid?"

Sailor Moon jumped straight up from the ground to avoid an attack, and then came falling back down, only to have to spring up again.

"How am I supposed to know Mercury, geez?" she yelled to her bluenette friend, a.k.a. Ami Mizuno, Crossroads High School's resident genius. A fireball suddenly zoomed past her and hit the oncoming youma with amazing force. The youma, one of the many still remaining, almost instantly sunk into a pile of ashes.

"Thanks Mars!" Moon yelled. Mars was Serena's fiery (ha ha, get it?) friend Rei Hino.

"Just pay attention next time Sailor Moon!" the raven haired girl snapped. Sailor Moon pouted for a minute, but then turned back to the battle ahead. The street block was literally swarming with lesser youma, all being controlled by the fat one. Earlier, Ami had detected strange amounts of energy coming from the fashion clothing store in which the monsters had set up camp. When the Sailor Scouts came to check it out, they were ambushed by the energy sucking baddies.

"The answer was phosphate, deoxyribose sugar, and a nitrogenous base! Next question- what are the five nitrogenous bases found in DNA and RNA?"

The biggest of the youma, the one Sailor Moon had been forced to take care of, began to run towards her again.

"Um…eh… cytosine!"

It looked angry. Really angry.

"Thymine!"

Something was materializing in its chubby hand.

"G…Guanine!"

Sailor Moon's hand was straying towards her tiara. _Surely it's been weakened enough…_

"Uracil and uh…"

"Ur-a going to pay for this Sailor Moon!" the youma shrieked, and then hurled something at her with enough speed to break the sound barrier. Taken by surprise, Sailor Moon had no time to do anything but throw her arms up in defense. The object slammed into her and get going, taking her with it. It slammed her into one of the supporting poles of that same store's overhang, and wrapped around her, pinning her there defenselessly. The youma smiled, revealing dangerously sharp teeth. She was doomed.

"Guys? A little help here?" she screamed, but she could see that her friends were occupied with their own battles. Sailor Moon watched as Sailor Jupiter tore one of the youmas apart with a massive lightning bolt, and then cursed violently, Sailor Jupiter acting the same as she would when she was just Lita Kino.

"There's no help for you anymore, Sailor Moron," the youma sneered," So now, you may as well answer you're friend's question before I rip you into pieces the size of a nitrogenous base! Cytisine…Thymine…Guanine…Uracil… and…?"

_Wow, is it just me or are the youma getting smarter?_

She was trapped, and even if she did somehow manage to escape, she was _still_ going to fail her biology test. Another object was starting to materialize in the thing's hands. Sailor Moon didn't even cry out at her impending doom.

"_Adenine."_

Sailor Moon drew in a sharp breath as something flew past her. The youma was suddenly on the ground, squealing in pain and trying to pull out the red rose that had lodged itself into on of its eyes (AN: eww…). _Red Rose_. Turning as much as she could under her restrictive circumstances, Sailor Moon saw him standing there, almost blending in with the shadows. He was staring at her from behind his dashing white mask.

"Tuxedo Mask."

"Sailor Moon."

The two stared at each other for what seemed like hours. Sailor Moon heard her heart pounding in her ears, and was really glad that it was dark, so that her gorgeous savior couldn't see her blush.

"GRAHHHHH! You little punk, look what you did to my eye! YOU'LL PAY!" the youma roared, the injured but now flower free eye bleeding profusely. _Well,_ Sailor Moon though, wistfully,_ so much for that romantic moment_.

"Sailor Moon, dust it!" Tuxedo Mask said urgently in his smooth, sultry voice. She complied, but then realized that she had a slight problem.

"Um… Tuxedo Mask, I'd love to, but I'm kind of…stuck."

"Mask-" Jupiter yelled, at last noticing his presence," You get Sailor Moon free, I'll keep the youma busy!"

The tuxedo clad mystery nodded and, of all things, took off his black top hat, revealing a mess of dark hair. Then, with a smug grin, he made the action of reaching into his hat, like a magician. However, instead of some fluffy white rabbit, he pulled out a rather dangerous looking dagger. Sailor Moon regarded the steel blade and rose engraved hilt with a mixture of shock and wonder- it was perhaps the most conventional weapon she had ever seen in her life as a superhero- everyone _she_ knew either spouted elemental energy out from their bodies or procured canes and red roses. Tuxedo Mask stepped to the back of the pole, so that he could cut the ensnared Scout free. She could feel his hands hovering only inches away from her back, and drawing nearer every second.

Suddenly, they stopped. Tuxedo Mask hesitated, and then circled around to the front of the pole, where Sailor Moon was waiting, confused. He looked at her, and then what was holding her, before turning his head away. It was dark, but Sailor Moon could tell that he was… _blushing!_ He held his head in one of his hands, not facing her, and mumbled something incomprehensible.

"What?"

Tuxedo Mask turned back to face her, but wouldn't look directly at her.

"I c-can't cut you free."

"Um…why not?" she asked, impatiently watching the masked man. He turned even redder with her last question, but was finally able to splutter out," S-Sailor Moon, you're wearing a bra!"

Sailor Moon's jaw dropped, and for a moment, she was pretty sure it was going to dislocate itself. She stared at him, speechless. Suddenly, a torrent of words came from the girl whose face was now looking redder than Fruit Punch Kool-Aid (OH YEA!).

"Well yea, Tuxedo Mask, I-I mean, I may not be very big, b-but I still wear-"

Tuxedo Masked turned, if possible, a deeper crimson shade," No, no – I mean, not wearing, euh, of course you're wearing but I mean – it's a bra that's got you trapped! To the pole, and I can't…"

Sailor Moon didn't noticed the masked man trail off, her attention was pulled away by a shriek coming from the battlefield. One of the youma had sent a shoe flying towards Sailor Mercury – she had dodged, but it hit the large glass display window behind her. The small glass shards exploded out everywhere, and didn't fail to leave Mercury scathed.

"Sailor Mercury," she screamed to her injured companion," Hold on, I'm coming!" The blonde scout then snapped at Tuxedo Mask, who was still trying to regain his cool demeanor," Look, Tuxedo, I'd love to sit here and talk about you lingerie phobia, but my friends are kinda getting their butts kicked so…" she started to flail violently against the bra that held her up to the pole," GET ME OUTTA HERE!"

With one quick swipe, she was free. Tuxedo Mask held the bra in one hand, then suddenly dropped it as if it had bit him. _–Seeing who it came from-_ Sailor Moon thought _–It probably wouldn't surprise me if it did.-_ The man turned back to Sailor Moon, but she was already gone, flinging herself back into the battle again. He looked at the piece of underwear one last time, then shook his head and followed the golden streamers he adored so much.

"'Bout time," Sailor Jupiter grunted as Moon ran by, headed towards the main youma and a very sore looking Mars were trying to keep contained, with little success. There was a gash down Mars' left arm and a large, ugly looking bruise that was starting to form on one of her legs. In fact, none of her companions looked too good. Jupiter had some nasty looking burn marks on once gloved hands, and the baubles that had held up her hair and either been pulled out or broken, leaving her hair down to swirl into her face. Mercury had a cut right above her right eyebrow, along with the injuries sustained from the shattering glass. Sailor Moon herself could feel several bruised ribs from where the bra had wrapped around her so tightly.

"Sorry Jupiter," Sailor Moon called back," You'll have to thank Bra-Man for the delay!" Sailor Jupiter gave Tuxedo Mask a strange look as he ran past, an unvoiced question that caused him to blush behind his mask. Jupiter rolled her eyes, then finished off the last youma minion.

"HEY YOU!"

The grotesque youma turned at Sailor Moon's shrill call. The blonde was drawn up to her full five feet two inches, and had her fists proudly planted on her hips.

"You evil villain," she yelled," You took advantage of the hearts of teenagers everywhere, and tried to mold their self images until they were as gross as you and you're style!"

The youma rolled its bulging eyes.

"In the name of the Moon," she continued," and good fashion taste, I, S-"

Sailor Moon was cut off as a thong was sent flying in her direction. She jumped and watched the underwear ram into one of the small trees that lined the street, snapping it in half with a sickening snap. _–That coulda been me…-_ Sailor Moon came down and, at the worst possible time of all, pulled a classic Serena Tsukino klutz-out – as her foot touched the ground again, it slid, and she landed brutally on her behind. _–Ow... – _she thought, biting her lip told hold back tears – _I'm gonna feel that in the morning.-_

A white gloved hand came into her view, and snaked around her waist. Tuxedo Mask gently helped her back up to her feet, and ever so briefly, held her there up next to him, as if he had forgotten that they were in the middle of a heated battle with a with a wicked youma. Sailor Moon drew in a breath, both shocked and content as she felt her heart turn into melted candle wax – warm, soft, and squishy.

"Dust it," he breathed softly into her ear. He released her, almost reluctantly, from his hold. Sailor Moon stood there for a second, feeling awash with emotions both new and old. _–Definitely worthy of a diary entry…-_ Slowly, she raised her hand to her tiara, and took it off of her forehead, staring at the youma with newly found anger.

"How rude of you to interrupt me!" she yelled. "Like I was saying, In the name of the Moon, I, Sailor Moon, Punish you!"

"MOON- TIARA- MAGIC!" she yelled. The Moon scout hurled the now glowing disk. It struck the youma with an explosion of energy and fat.

"WE'LL GET YOU SAILOR MOON," the youma shrieked, starting to dissolve," AND YOU'RE PRETTY BOY TOO!" The cry suddenly ceased. Sailor Moon knocked over the pile of dust with a boot–clad foot.

"I think it's safe to say that's the last we'll be seeing of her," Tuxedo Mask said from behind," Good job Sailor Moon!"

Sailor Moon nodded, her face burning red, for the zillionth time that night. Her insides churned in nervous pleasure at his complement," Well, you helped out a ton too… I would have never escaped that horrible bra without you!"

Now it was his turn to change colors. The rest of the Sailor Scouts came up, looked exhausted and battered, but relatively pleased.

"Yea, good job Sailor Moon, you only managed to go klutz-o once," Sailor Jupiter added, distractedly running a hand through her loose hair, unused to the feeling.

"Of course, that was at the most vital part of the battle."

That comment came courtesy of Sailor Mars, who, receiving a reproachful glance from Sailor Moon, added," But you did a decent job."

"We still need to work a little on your biology though," Mercury said, sounding almost like a teacher herself. Sailor Moon slumped," Don't remind me…" It was already past midnight, and the test was tomorrow. The prospects didn't seem that great.

A warm chuckle came from Tuxedo Mask, who placed a hand on her head between her two odangoes.

"What? What?" She asked curiously, spinning around to face the much taller man. She came up to about his chest, so she was forced to look up into his eyes. They were dark, like night, but with that same translucent shine like that which came from the soft glow of the moon. He smiled, an action that made her insides twist violently.

"Nothing," he whispered," You just remind me of someone else I know."

"I hope that's a good thing."

Tuxedo Mask pulled away, smiling even more," It's a very good thing." He tipped his top hat to her, and continued," I'll see you next time, Sailor Moon, until then…" Tuxedo Mask disappeared into the darkness of the night. As she turned back to her companions, who were all snickering uncontrollably, she swore she heard one last farewell.

"Good luck on the test…"

* * *

Even with the ring of the school bell urging them to leave, the students of the Biology 1 all exited, sallow and lethargic. All, that is, except for one very happy Serena Tsukino. The class had gotten the results of their Protein Synthesis test, and almost half the class had failed. Serena walked joyfully down the hall with Lita, trying to comfort her on the 74 she had received on her test.

"Really Lita, a C isn't bad, I've gotten much w-"

"Watch it Odango-Atama!"

She looked up into a pair of blue eyes, filled with mirth. By the tone of his voice, she ould tell that Darien was in a good mood too.

"You watch it, you diploid," she replied, defiantly placing her hands on her hips, feeling proud at her insult. Darien spied the now crumpled test in Serena's hand.

"Obviously you haven't paid attention in Biology, Tsukino, you're a diploid too…" Darien sighed, amused by the girl's silliness.

"I know that jerk, I have a good grade in Biology!"

"What, a D?" he joked. Before she could aim a punch in his direction, he ducked out of the way and started walking," Look, I don't have time for this, I'll see you later."

He walked a few feet, and then suddenly grabbed her wrist, and in her surprise, Serena dropped her test. Darien scooped it up," Ah, now, what's this Odango? Another failed test?"

"Nope."

Darien's eyes bulged as he looked at the score on the top of the paper.

"You got an EIGHTY-THREE?" he said, incredulous," But, but that's a passing grade!"

"Uh-huh! See Darien, I don't mess up at everything."

He handed the test back to her, at a momentary loss for words. Lita smiled, and put a finger to her chin, looking as thought she was pondering some great mystery," You know Serena… I think Darien owes you for all of those times he's called you stupid."

Serena nooded, grinning evily," I agree Lita. I think that Darien should take us to the arcade and treat us!"

Darien found his words again," Well, I think Darien should have a say in this!"

The two girls grabbed him by the arms and steered him out of the building, despite his protests.

L

_-Mmmm… now this is Heaven-_ Serena thought, in a stae of bliss as she happily sipped on the mint chocolate chip milkshake that Darien had bought for her –_The only thing that could make this better would be Tuxedo Mask…- _

She looked around the arcade. Lita was playing one of the crane machines, trying to win a small Hatsuharu plushie (from Furuba!). Andrew was watching, leaning gently on the machine and cheering her on. Darien was sitting a few stools down from Serena at the counter, grumpily prodding the chocolate cake she had made him order. He was mad at her, for making him pay for him and Lita's drinks, but Serena didn't really care. Darien was a sourpuss most days anyway.

When it came to Darien, Serena couldn't find a happy median. She either hated him, or she liked him. Most of the time, they hated each other, today an example of one of those rare moments when they actually got along. Serena could never imagine truly being his friend, or, what's more, having to spend long periods of time with him after school, as Andrew did. More than a few minutes with Darien sent Serena into a rampage. _–It's no wonder he doesn't have a girlfriend_- she thought, finishing off the mint treat _–He can be such a jerk!-_

Like that stunt he had pulled with taking her test. Sure, it wasn't like she had gotten a bad grade on that test, but still, he could have at least asked, rather than just taking it.

_-The test…-_ Serena bent down to unfasten her school and bag pull out the test again. She smiled as she admired it. Her eyes strayed to one of the questions, one that she had gotten right, and one that Serena knew she would never forget, not in her entire life.

_17. Name the five nitrogenous bases found in DNA and RNA_

And there, in her own loopy, girlish writing, the correct answer. Her eyes scanned the words, and she whispered, smiling fondly.

"_Cytosine, Thymine, Guanine, Uracil… Adenine."_

FIN.

L

So, what did you think? Did it turn out alright? I'm really pleased with it, it's a meaty chapter for me, and chock full of romance and humor. Yay! Please, leave a nice review- no flames, and remember, Quality and Quantity count! I'll try and update soon, well, as soon as I can.

RR

PS- Oh yea, and by the way, I got a 98 on my Protein Synthesis Test.


	3. The Principle!

RR- Well, here it is, the much anticipated third chapter of Lessons in Life. Sorry it took so long guys, I've been unpleasantly busy. Not much to say, too tired, so, just read and review!

Disclaimer: I own Sailor Moon. And I can dance. Ha. Not really.

* * *

Lessons in Life

Chapter 3- The Principle! (Not to be confused with The Principal)

* * *

_24-32-6_

After the third attempt and a rather unenthusiastic punch, Serena's dinged school locker creaked open. Ami coughed as the dust bunnies that had been practicing their multiplication tables in the steel confines of the locker sprang to their freedom, and asked incredulously," When was the last time you used you locker Serena?

The blond rested her head against the top of it as she loaded a few books and a binder onto its single, small shelf. With her head still rested on the frame, she replied," When was the last time that I was this early to class?"

Ami did a quick mental count," Uh, about four months."

"Exactly," Serena said, barely managing to croak out the syllable. The night before last had found the Sailor Scouts in a big brawl in front of the arcade, resulting in another busted window they still had cuts from. Yesterday had been semester exams, which had drained everyone, especially Serena. Last night, a youma attacked and old folks home. The only good thing about that had been that her favorite masked man had saved her from some scary needles and a wheelchair stampede. Today, Ami had come to her house early to get her up and walk her to school, so that Serena wouldn't miss today's big biology lab. Not like it really mattered- Serena was having trouble with basic functions today, let alone a complex cell structure lab. Those kinds of problems popped up when one only got about three hours of sleep a night- less on the nights before tests.

"Where's Lita?" Serena mumbled. Normally, the brunette walked to school with Ami, but today she was nowhere to be seen. Ami rearranged the pile of textbooks she held in her arms- if anyone needed a locker, it was her.

"Well, she called me today and told me that she was taking a day for recuperation. She said that between getting ready for the district Kendo competition, school, and well, you-know-what, she's exhausted."

Serena finally turned away from her locker to face her friend, trying to look angry but failing miserably in her weariness.

"What?" she half exclaimed, half whined," I'm just as tired as her, if not more so! Why can't I take a day off?"

Ami smiled politely," Because, in case you haven't noticed, with your grades, you really can't afford to take any personal days."

Serena sighed dejectedly," I know, but come on Ami, that was cruel. You're starting to sound more like Rei everyday."

Ami blushed and spluttered an apology, knowing how much the two bickered.

"Odango? What are you doing here this early? Did you get confused and set your clock back an hour early, because you know that's not for another few months!" A cheery voice mocked the blonde from nearby. Serena slammed the door of her locker shut with a clang of finality, only to find a scarily cheerful Darien Shields grinning back, his own locker open and filled with books.

"What're you doin' next to my locker?" Serena grumbled, annoyed by the upperclassman's happy demeanor. Darien blinked, and then just laughed, something that scared Serena more than his grin.

"Well good morning to you too!" he said, trying to sound hurt," For your information, you're the one next to my locker!"

Serena turned back to Ami, who was smiling a little," Ami. Has this creep's locker been next to mine since the beginning of the year?"

The bluenette nodded and pressed her lips together in a futile attempt to keep from laughing. Serena turned back, frustrated, to her newly found locker neighbor. Darien looked back at her, staring into her eyes. Like two blue magnets, she found her own settling into his, and for a moment she could glimpse into his mind- joy, pleasure, mockery…worry, pain, fear, then something deeper, unreadable. Something- somewhere- she didn't want to venture into. She pulled her eyes away, equally afraid that he would see into her mind, and she felt his do the same, instead, his scanned her entire face.

"God Tsukino, who did your makeup this morning, the Queen of the Undead?"

Serena gave him a "if-looks-could-kill-_you-_would-be-the-Queen-of-the-Undead" glare," Baka. I don't wear makeup."

A strange look crossed the upperclassman's face, followed by a slight blush.

"Oh, right, of course," he said. He then closed his locker," Um, I'll see you later Odango, and I'll see you in Trig. Ami!" Darien turned and rushed down the hall.

Serena turned to her best friend," Well, I think someone's been hitting the drugs a little too hard." she grumbled, and then sighed at Ami's blank look. Sometimes her super genius friend could be even more naïve than she. Which was scary.

"Never mind. Do I really look that bad Ami?"

Ami was saved from having to answer by the first bell.

* * *

"Excuse me, but The Principal would like to see Miss Tsukino up in his office."

Darien saw Serena look up from a microscope at the sound of her name, only to glare at him with weary dislike. She was wearing safety goggles, but the thick plastic shield nor the fact that she on the opposite side of the room could hide from him the fact that she was looking worse now than she had been that morning.

_Poor baby-_ he thought sarcastically – _She must have been up all night watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer or something like that-_

The teacher nodded reluctantly, upset that her class had been interrupted and now a student had to be taken out – she hated absence. (Sound familiar Swords?)

"Fine," she said," Tsukino, go! But come back today this afternoon to finish up the lab or else it's a zero!"

Serena sighed but nodded," Hai Sensei." She gathered up her Biology book and slid it into her Happy Bunny messenger bag, then followed Darien out into the hall. They walked in silence for a few minutes, each waiting for the other to speak first. Serena broke.

"Thanks a lot Shields."

Darien stopped, confused and agitated by the underclassman's sour mood," For what?"

Serena stopped too, putting her fists on her hips and staring at him. Something about the way she did so tickled a corner of his mind, but he brushed it away as she began to reply.

"For ruining my life and taking me out of class and making me miss the rest of the lab. Now I have to stay here after school and it's all your fault!"

"Hey," he said, raising his hands in defense," First of all, it was the Principal, not me, who's taking you out of class, second, don't you normally stay after school for detention anyway because you're always missing first class? That's why you didn't even know your locker was next to mine! And how am I ruining your life! You're the one that's moping around and complaining!"

The blonde mustered up a glare, then turned and continued to walk towards the office. Darien stared at her back and watched as her pigtails swished violently. Never in the entire year that he had known the younger girl had she not been bubbly, if not occasionally obnoxious – even when the two got into their little spats. Something really big must have popped her bubbles to cause her to act like she was today.

Not like he cared. No, his attentions were focused elsewhere.

As they neared the office, Darien rushed forward and opened the door for Serena (Lol, ah, the infamous door opening battles). She stopped and stared at him indignantly, until he said mockingly," Meatballs first."

She stomped her foot, and their eyes locked for the second time that day. However, Darien averted quickly, not wanting to go deeper into the mind of Serena Tsukino than he had already been. Serena snorted," Lord, at least I don't have to put up with you after school too," she said," Otherwise I think I'd die."

Serena then walked through the open door and weaved her way through the row of Secretaries desks, the tenants of which were whispering fiercely about the two students, to The Principal's office. Darien closed the door of the main office and followed knowing what was in store for Serena- no – both of them, in The Principal's domain.

_-Better start digging your grave Odango-_ he thought wistfully as the heavy wooden door to the office opened slowly.

* * *

"Miss Tsukino, Mr. Shields, please come in and have a seat."

Darien and Serena sat in the hard metal chairs in front of the large ebony desk. Everything in the office was dark, the air surrounding them was dank, much like the little man that sat before them.

The Principal was a little, hunched over American man with a shock of bald hair and paled, wrinkled skin from a lack of sunlight. Overall, his image could be equated to that of Edgar Allan Poe. The man never came out of his office, but had a knack for knowing every single occurrence in the school, whether it be behavioral, social, or academic. Rumors flew among the female, and some of the male, underclassmen that he was really a vampire who was in disguise at the school so that he could suck the blood of misbehaving students. Serena seemed the type of person to believe such rumors, and Darien watched as the girl shivered slightly under The Principal's gaze. He shuffled a stack of papers and let loose a raspy cough that was apparently his trademark.

"Now today," he started, "I asked you to come Miss Tsukino in order to discuss with you a few slight problems."

Serena shot up, her eyes wider than Darien had seen them today.

"I swear, I DID NOT put gum under the desk in Miss Haruna's class! At least not more than once… or twice…"

The Principal sent her a withering glare, and Serena slowly sat down.

"That's not what I called you in for today, Miss Tsukino, but I will keep that in mind the next time I supervise detention."

She opened her mouth in protest, but was cut off by The Principal.

"I'd like to discuss with you, Miss Tsukino, your grades."

A groan escaped Serena's pale lips, and she sunk down lower in the uncomfortable chair.

"Now, while your grades have never been particularly… radiant, over this last semester, they have been on a steady decline. I just got the results of this semester's exams, and I have to admit that I am highly disappointed."

Serena looked away from The Principal to Darien, her eyes frantically pleading for help. Darien shrugged and sent her a teasing smirk. The Principal coughed again.

"As you know, this school takes pride in hardworking, high achieving academic students. So, as a solution for your… sinking performance, I have devised a solution. Tutoring."

"Tutoring?" The blonde looked at the Principal as if he had sprouted fangs.

"Yes, tutoring, primarily in mathematics, and Mr. Shields has volunteered to be your proctor."

The Principal coughed as Darien glared at him, and then at Serena.

_-More like forced_- he thought, hoping that his eyes would send that same message to the blonde.

"But why couldn't Ami tutor me?" Serena wailed, pulling one of her streamer like pigtails nervously.

"Miss Mizuno is one of our star students, and because of her involvement in higher level studies, I didn't want to trouble her. Besides, she's participating in another school program outside of this one, a cram school if you will. But of course, you already know this, seeing as she is your friend."

Serena turned red and sat as far back into her seat as she possibly could before muttering," But why that je-" she corrected herself at a cough," Darien? Why him?"

"Because," The Principal said, matter of fact," He is not only very dedicated in his math studies, but the top in the class. Also, I know how you two don't always get along, and I thought that, along with the academic benefits, this would be a wonderful way for both of you to gain some respect for each other. Now, let me tell you how you will…"

Darien watched as Serena clenched her fists and silently, angrily, watched The Principal drone on. He figured that the girl must have been really tired – she didn't cry, she didn't try to fight back. His mind drifted off to the night before…

* * *

_It was dark, the moon new, its light absent. Tuxedo Mask was creeping down the hallway… of a retirement home. Behind him, he could hear the muffled tread and the light breathing of his Champion of Justice, Sailor Moon. There was chaos in many of the hallways – youmas had decided to exploit the energy of both the doctors and the tenants of the home, trying to suck as much energy as they could from the retirees. Sailor Moon had been separated from her companions and had been cornered by a host of possessed doctors wielding some very painful looking needles._

Darien shivered at the memory. He hated needles.

_But his need to rescue Sailor Moon helped him overcome that fear, at least for the moment. Using his cane, he knocked out the doctors- they were human after all- and grabbed her hand, leading her down one of the empty hallways. At a crossway, he stopped abruptly, listening to the distant human screams. She, always a little slow in her reflexes, bumped into his back. Sailor Moon squeezed his gloved hand gently._

"_Sorry," she whispered, her warm breath tickling the back of his neck._

"_S'okay," he mumbled, glad it was dark so she couldn't see him blush," All's clear…"_

_Suddenly, a cry rang out, breaking the almost eerie silence that they hadn't noticed had enveloped them._

"_Mercury," Sailor Moon gasped, and, before he knew it, she had let go of his hand and was racing down the hall, away from him._

"_Sailor Moon, wai-" he stopped, knowing it was no use. With a sigh, Tuxedo Mask followed her._

* * *

"Mr. Shields?"

The Principal's voice cut through his dreamy recollection like a thorn through tender flesh. Darien blinked, The Principal coughed.

"Um-yes-yea, uh-right," he stuttered, still in a partial and confused daze.

"Alright then," The Principal said, smiling wolfishly," You'll start tomorrow."

"Huh?" Darien couldn't stop the questioning syllable from breaking through. Serena doubled over in her chair, pretending to tie her shoe while trying to hold the laughter that was wracking her body. The Principal coughed his raspy cough and frowned," We all were about to agree that you and Miss Tsukino would start tutoring tomorrow." He raised an eyebrow as if daring either student to challenge his next statement," Unless, of course, you have previous commitments…"

Serena looked down at the thin, worn floor, shamefacedly remembering something. She mumbled softly.

"What was that Miss Tsukino?"

She fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat," Um, I think that I have detention tomorrow Sir."

The Principal smiled again, and Darien saw the younger girl twitch.

"I've talked to your teachers, and we've all agreed that your academics are more important than your punishments, so, as long as you are being tutored, you will not have any after school detentions."

Serena jumped up so fast that one of her pigtails smacked Darien across the face and out of his Sailor Moon focused daze. She smiled gleefully for the first time that day, and did a little jig.

"No more detention, no more detention," she sang.

The Principal coughed, and Serena sat down immediately.

"However," he said, glowering," I will expect you not to traipse around my school like a farm animal on sugar," with a quick glance to Darien, he continued," Now that that's all been settled, the two of you are dismissed."

Serena stood up and bowed quickly before rushing out of the office. Darien, with a sigh, followed.

* * *

"Why me?" Serena groaned, dragging her messenger bag on the ground as she walked home. It was late in the day, all of the other students were either already home or at a club, leaving Serena rather alone as she traversed towards her house. Her head felt as though it was about it split right down the middle, and her eyes fought to remain focused on the path before her. Looking into a microscope for two hours would do that to a person. Serena desperately tried to think of one good thing that had happened that day. Nothing came to mind, so she went back further. To last night.

* * *

_She was alone now, in a maze of dark hallways, following only one scream. Sailor Moon stomped her foot in frustration, knowing that she shouldn't have left Tuxedo Mask's side to go find Mercury. She turned a corner and there at the end of the hall, she could see a square of light- well, not so much light as it was a not as bright patch of dark. Running at full speed, not even fear held her back. However, her momentum got the better of her. With a crash, she slammed into a glass door, the force of her body weight causing it to swing open. The light, bright in comparison to the dark hallways, that the streetlights of the parking lot let off made her squint until her eyesight slowly adjusted. _

_What she saw didn't exactly thrill her. By some chance, she had gone the right way. Three, big, bad, brainwashed bald guys were holding her friends captive. However, as she was about to attack, she was distracting by a low rumbling sound, accompanied with an occasional squeak of rusting metal. Sailor Moon thought she had seen it all, but this was the piece du resistiance: a wheelchair stampede, stampeding her way. There was no escape for the blonde hero, the transportation chairs were headed her way at an inescapable speed. Not knowing what to do, she shrieked, her voice causing the glass windows of the building to shake violently._

_A hand clamped over her mouth, gentle, but strong enough to halt her piercing cry. Sailor Moon gasped into the hand, watching as the ground grew further away, and the wheelchair stampede smaller. She was in his arms again- he had saved her again- Tuxedo Mask. _

_-Oh yea- she thought with a smile, her mind temporarily forgetting that they still had a battle to fight- Definitely a job perk.-_

* * *

"SERENA BUNNY TSUKINO!"

The shout drew the blonde out of her daydream and confused her feet into thinking that the sky was the ground. As she recovered from her klutz attack, she looked up to the speaker. Her mother, Ikuko Tuskino, stood above her, looking menacing as she held her usual spatula in her right hand. With a smack, it hit her left palm, then rose up again, reminding Serena of an angry drill sergeant.

"Hello Mama," she mumbled, knowing that she was headed for trouble. Her mother was kind, but strict, and not afraid to dole out punishment, even if it was unfair to Serena.

"Your Principal called me."

Serena groaned, knowing what was coming next.

"I'm very disappointed with you," she said, crossing her arms and waving the spatula slightly," and I've decided to take action. Besides tutoring and all other completely school related activities, you're grounded."

"What?" Serena shrieked, a thousand different thoughts flying through her head," But Momma, that's not fair!" -_I'm going to have to sneak out of the house-_ she thought frantically, now tugging nervously on a golden pigtail.

"No, no trying to reason with me," Ikuko snapped," No phone, no arcade, no TV, no computer and no manga until you bring your grades up."

"But-"

"Don't even start Serena," she snapped. Pointing her spatula like a baton, she commanded," Now get inside and up to your room before I give it to Sammy!"

"Please Mom, anything but that!" Serena squealed, running inside and lunging up the stairs haphazardly. On the way up, the phone rang, and on habit, Serena picked up the hallway extension.

"Hello, Tuskino resi-"

"Serena, it's me Ami, I need to talk to you!"

The tone of her friend's voice sent off warning bells in Serena's mind, but she was more concerned about her mother, who was downstairs looking up, scowling and waving her spatula impatiently in the air.

"Uh, Ami, yea, I'm kind of in trouble so I can't talk right now."

"But-"

Her mother was moving towards the stairs.

"Gotta go Ami, see you tomorrow!"

Serena slammed down the phone and ran towards the sanctity of her room. As she did, her mother's sharp voice floated up.

"Remember Serena- no phone or computer! Oh, and take that idiotic headwear off!"

Serena's hand instantly flew to her head, where it met plastic. The safety goggles from Biology. She hadn't taken them off.

FIN.

* * *

Well, that's the end of Chapter Three. This was a nice chapter, I got to set up the plot, and do some character stuff, fun fun. Once again, sorry it took so long coming out- I've had it done for a long time, just no time to type it and get it up. Don't expect the next chapter within a reasonable amount of time, like a few days. A week at the least, probably more since my teachers have turned to the Dark Side. Anyway, please review- make it long and good, constructive criticism is welcome! Peace out!

RR

Reviewers- I love you! Sorry I'm not going into big details with big replies, but my brain has short circuited. Again.

Enchanted Princess- Thanks! I agree, last chapter was good, I'm glad you liked it. Personally, I think that Eightofswords is a much better writer, but it's what you think that counts!

Chibi-Doo- Merci, I think the bra was the best part, and got the most reactions too!

EightofSwords- Do I even need to comment?

SilentAngel101- Wow, you're welcome, and thank you! Yea, it's Biology 1 stuff, and actually pretty interesting- especially genetics. I mean, come on, how do you mix blonde and black hair, and get pink? That defies all things natural. I guess that's just how anime is.

Renegade-452- Thanks, and sorry about the spelling. I'm sure there are errors in this chapter too, but, for the moment, I'm too lazy to go back and correct them. Bad me.

Red-Rose 18- Thanks for reviewing again! Um, I'm not exactly sure, but it's a possibility. Besides, I can't reveal too much of what I have (coughnothingcough), where would the fun in that be? But it will most likely have a part in the story.

oxostardustoxo- Love the name, its cute. I'm glad you like it, and I hope you enjoyed this one just as much.

tireen- Wow! I didn't think I was original, lol. Well, thanks. I kind of feel bad for Serena, she gets made fun of so much, so I decided to make her just a little smarter in here. Not much, but just a little.

Sailormoonhannah- Ha ha, thanks! Anyone who flames me, I would have to say, has no class. Thanks for reviewing again!

Princess-Nav- Thanks for reviewing again, I'm glad you thought so. This one wasn't as funny, but sometimes things must be sacrificed for the establishment of a real plot. But the next few chapters should have both some more humor and some romance ;).

Alright children, this is the end. The point of no return. Review.

RR


	4. First Date

* * *

Lessons In Life

Chapter Four- First Date

19 pages

Dedicated to eightofswords! Fais-chan, your heart and tolerance is almost as big as your love of anime and Daniel Radcliffe! Almost! Anyway, thanks so much Fais and Nan, for your support, and putting up with me being so slow to update! You guys rock! And, not to be forgotten, thanks all my great reviewers! Replies at the bottom! Please read, review, and rave to all your friends!

Just recently, I'd realize how negative I'd been in my authors notes, my writing, and, well everything else. I apologize for that! I'm really very thankful for all of my reviewers, all of my friends, and the awesome-ness of fanfiction! Okies, onto the story!

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, but if I did, I'd have the Scouts eliminate child torture, aka, Physics during the summer.

* * *

Serena scowled and set her bag on her desk, kicking off her shoes so hard that they banged against the wall, leaving a black streak as they did so. She set her backpack on her desk, suddenly feeling lighter at the removal of such weight. Grudgingly, Serena pulled her geometry book from the bag and opened up to the page that she was supposed to work on. As she stared at the problems, Serena felt her stomach sink- there was no way she could get all those symbols and numbers and theories and questions right, let alone understand them. Maybe it was just like Rei said- her brain was made of meatball mush.

_-Great- _she thought despairingly,-_ First the tutoring, then the biology, and now this. I don't think this day could get any worse.-_

And, like a dark curse, a prim voice rose up from the opposite side of Serena's room.

"Well now you've done it. You've really gotten yourself into a hole Serena, good going."

Serena slid down to the ground, coming face to face with the little black cat that was staring so viciously at her – and it certainly wasn't because Serena had forgotten to feed her.

_-Thought too soon…-_

"I know Luna, I know…" Serena said a slight strain in her voice. The last thing she needed was to get patronized by a cat. Luna- the magical talking cat who was Serena's discoverer, proctor, advisor, and all around pain in the tail – no pun intended.

Luna hissed under her breath, and then began the process of reprimanding the lackadaisical teen," This is all your fault, you realize! Serena, you should have kept up on your studies, so that you wouldn't have to spend valuable time that could be used for tracking down the Dark Kingdom being tutored by some boy that you've never been able to get along with!"

Luna stalked up to the blonde and made a swipe at her face. Serena evaded the paw of pain the first time around, but wasn't so lucky the second. She cried out as she felt her face – no blood this time.

"I'm sorry Luna, I just can't handle everything! There's too much to do!"

The cat scowled," The other girls do it – why can't you?"

"Come on Luna, you know that's not fair!" she wailed, her eyes starting to glaze as she sunk into typical baby mode," Rei's a psychic, Lita's a kendo master and lives on her own, and Ami's a friggin' super genius! Of course they can handle it! I can't. Me, I'm-"

"You're a lazy, boy obsessed, crybaby!" Luna retorted," You need to focus and work harder – remember our goal!"

"I know, you don't have to tell me- to find the Moon Princess and save the world and blah, blah blah…"

"You need to be more serious Serena!" Luna growled, the hair on her tail bristling up and making it look like an oversized pipe cleaner," Now, because you're grounded, you're going to have to sneak out of the house!"

"I thought you didn't condone that kind of behavior Luna," Serena said, smirking a little.

"I DON'T!" she yowled," But this is different! You-"

Serena felt her temper rising above the normal tear jerk reactions.

"Luna, you know what, I've heard enough of you ragging on me and making me feel useless. Now, I've got some geometry to work on – go bother the others. They're obviously much more important than I'll ever be."

She opened the door and shooed the enraged feline out before Luna could protest.

Luna stalked out of the room and down the stairs, a little surprised. This was the first time Luna had ever been kicked out of the room before, and she wasn't sure how to react. That must have taken a lot of nerve, for Serena to force her out.

"Maybe I was too hard on her," she mewed quietly to herself. She had been rather harsh, and Serena did seem pretty upset. Luna shook it off. Serena would be fine, and besides, she needed to toughen up some.

* * *

Half way done with guessing her way through that night's geometry assignment, Serena's communicator started to buzz. With a groan, she dug the small piece of technology out of her back pack. Just what she needed, a youma attack to add onto everything else she had to deal with. The pink object flashed blue lights and vibrated wildly in her palm – Serena wished that, when Ami had been doing modifications, she had included a silent mode. She pushed a miniscule button at the top of the communicator, and the circular video screen at the top right corner lit up, revealing her bluenette friend Ami. From the look on her face, Serena could tell that whatever Ami was going to say, it would be no good- her pinched pale lips and furrowed brow spelled only trouble.

"Hey Ami," Serena said, trying hard to put on a cheerful face. Whatever was bothering Ami would come out in time, she had no doubt of that," Sorry about before. I'm just in a little bit of trouble."

"I hate him."

_-Well,- _Serena thought, shocked but somewhat relieved that Ami hadn't said anything about her being in trouble-_That didn't take any time at all.- _But who was he?

"Ok…" Serena started, having no idea what – or more accurately, who – her friend was referring to.

"I can't believe I let myself sink down! I bet he was just waiting until I was off guard, and then he struck! With the battle and everything I didn't-"

"Whoa, Ami, what are you talking about?" the girl looked like she was about to explode, and the prospect of Ami brains all over the communicator really didn't suit Serena," Calm down and start from the beginning- Who is he?"

Ami took a deep breath and closed her eyes, looking as if she was trying to push out the rage that had erupted in her. Her mouth remained tight, but as she spoke her voice went back to normal Ami tones.

"Darien. Darien Shields."

Serena smiled triumphantly," See! Didn't I tell you he was a jerk! You should have believed me!"

"I know Serena, I know. I just couldn't see it before. I was blinded by his charm and looks and brains, and my feelings for him, but now I know the truth." She opened her eyes, which held a burning rage Serena had only ever seen when Rei got mad at her for being late.

"You like Darien?" Serena asked hesitantly.

"I used to, but now…"

Serena was speechless- her friend? Smart, sensible Ami, liking that jerkwad Darien? What had this world come to?

"But now I hate him. He-he- he ranked the highest on the trigonometry exam. I ranked second. He beat me! HE BEAT ME!" Ami's contained rage bubbled out again, until her voice was hysterical," If only I had had more time to study, but that night we had that huge battle and I didn't get home until late and I only got to study for three hours but then I crashed and – and now! No college will ever want me! I'll never be a doctor and it's ALL HIS FAULT!"

The girl stopped her rant and starting breathing heavily. Serena was floored.

"I can't believe you used to like him!" she yelled, her voice too getting hysterical.

"That's not the point Serena! He outranked me! In MATH! It would have been fine in any other subject, but in MATH? I was at the head of the class but now – now… colleges will never want a failure like me…"

"Ami, do you have moon rocks lodged in your brain or something that's gone you to go temporarily insane?" Serena screamed," Of course colleges are going to accept you! You're a freshman taking 11th grade courses! They're going to be impressed whether you got first or second or fourteenth in the class! You're a friggin' super genius! Me, me I can't even pass geometry! I have to get a tutor just so I don't fail this year! And – and to make it worse, I'm grounded and Luna hates me and-"

"Serena, please, calm down."

Serena stopped immediately. Ami had changed back to her normal self in almost the blink of an eye, calm, collected, and concerned.

"I'm sorry for complaining, it's just that, well, you know." Ami blushed shamefacedly," I got too worked up over it. Now, what did you say about tutoring?"

The blonde groaned and pulled nervously at one of her drooping pigtails before launching into the complicated story. Ami nodded and listened patiently, only snorting when Darien's name was mentioned. Serena finished off with her unfortunate grounding and the fight with Luna.

"How are we going to be able to find the Moon Princess if you're grounded?" Ami asked, although not accusingly as Luna had.

"I dunno Ami," Serena sighed," I suppose I'll just have to sneak out. That'll be fun. I just don't see how I can get out without Mom knowing- she has this crazy third eye thing going on which keeps me from doing almost anything without her knowing."

"Except for being a Sailor Scout. I'm sure we'll be able to manage," Ami continued, her tone revealing that she might have an idea," For the meantime, I want to know why The Principal choose Darien to be your tutor- I'm perfectly capable!"

This reminded Serena of what she had wanted to ask Ami" He said that you were starting up cram school again, and that you wouldn't have time. Why didn't you tell me about this Ami?"

Ami frowned, not out of anger, but out of confusion," I didn't tell you because I'm not. Between school and Scouting, there's no time for cram school. I have no idea where He got that idea from." She bit the nail of her index finger, and stared away from the screen of the communicator, looking perplexed," I just don't understand. And besides, haven't your geometry grades been getting better?"

"That's what I thought too, but now… I just don't know."

Serena heard a voice that didn't belong to Ami come from the communicator. It was muffled, and at the sound of it, Ami turned away again. Serena couldn't make out any words, but Ami nodded and yelled something back. She then turned to the communicator again.

"Serena, I'm sorry," she whispered," Mom's home and I've got to fix some dinner before she gets called back to the hospital again. Thanks for listening and calming me down, and don't worry about sneaking out- I've got an idea I'll tell you about tomorrow. I'll come by tomorrow so we can walk to school. Bye!"

Before Serena could say anything, the screen went blank, leaving Serena alone in her now silent room. Talking to Ami left her feeling somewhat better, even though her friend's temper tantrum had taken her by surprise. Serena set down her pink communicator/ torture device and looked forlornly at her geometry homework, which was only half finished. The girl sighed and picked up her pencil, thankful for friends like Ami and cursing her luck in general.

* * *

"Hey Serena, why the long face?"

Serena looked up from her half eaten pudding cup, and met warm brown eyes.

"Hey Motoki, it's nothing."

The blonde boy frowned, and sat down next to her. Motoki ran the café at the arcade Serena and the gang frequented, and was a junior at Crossroads High. And, in Serena's opinion, he was the second hottest guy in the world. Tuxedo Mask being the first, of course. However, that wasn't really on Serena's mind at the moment.

"It doesn't look like nothing," Motoki replied," You look sadder than a milkshake that's been abandoned for a power smoothie – and let me tell you, that's pretty sad."

Serena smiled at Motoki's attempt to cheer her up, but the smile was short lived. "It really isn't important Motoki, I swear, it's nothing. I'm fine!"

She tried to laugh but failed miserably. With a sigh, she chucked her unfinished pudding into the nearby trashcan and wrapped up the rest of her untouched lunch, her appetite escaping her at the moment.

"You know Serena," he said, a touch of worry in his voice," If you're trying to convince me that you're happy, your acting skills really suck. Now tell me, what's wrong."

"Sorry 'Toki," she mumbled," It's just that, well…"

"It's Darien, isn't it?" he asked."

Serena blinked at stared at him," How did you know?"

Motoki smiled," Call it counter boy instinct. Now, what did he do to you? Do you want me to beat him up for you? He may be my friend, but if he broke your heart, I'll hurt him."

"Wha?" Serena's heart almost stopped," Break my heart? Motoki! I totally do not like Darien! You don't think I do, do you?"

He held up his hands in defense," Jeez, I thought you did, but now, I guess not. Sorry Serena, it's just that, well, sometimes when you guys argue-"

"Don't start! I don't need you thinking I like him too! Anyway, no, Darien didn't break my heart, it's just that he ruined my life! That rotten, horrible, jerk that calls himself a human completely ruined my life!"

"Now, now Odango, I would say that's a little harsh."

Serena blanched and turned pale as Darien set down his lunch tray and sat right in between her and Motoki. _–Speak of the devil, and the devil will come…just what I need-_

"I didn't ruin your life – if anything, you ruined your own life by not working hard enough in math." Darien stared her down; challenging her to contradict the statement that they all knew was true.

"See Motoki?" Serena whined, leaning forward so she could see him," He's always so mean to me! I wish he'd just die or something! Jerk."

Darien raised a single eyebrow," You do realize I'm sitting right here, Odango?"

"Of course I do," she snapped," Just leave me alone!"

"Well, that's going to be kind of hard, seeing as I'm your teacher until you start caring enough about your grades to pull them up."

Darien was in her face now, his dark eyes burning brightly into hers, a smug grin streaking across his face. Serena glared back then screwed up her face and stuck her tongue out.

"Meatball head."

"Jerk"

"Spacey"

"Loser"

"Whining little rabbit."

"Out of style grandpa!"

"Um…excuse me for interrupting this little love spat, but I'm going to go ahead and go…" Motoki said, slowly edging up from his chair.

"NO!"

Two sets of furious eyes startled Motoki back down into his seat. Darien smiled coolly, and ran a hand through his black hair," Anyway Odango, I came over to tell-"

"Yea, yea, I remember. We're meeting at the public library right after school."

Motoki's eyes widened," For-for a date? But, Serena you-"

"IT'S NOT A DATE!" they both yelled. An unsettling silence fell over the entire cafeteria as the students all turned to stare at the two.

"Let me finish!" Darien hissed, lowering his head some," I was going to say that I just found out that I have an important Kendo meeting to go to after school. I have to be there, so I was wondering if you would meet me at the café, and then we could go to the library from there. I'm sure you don't have any later plans."

"And if I do?"

"Well then, you'll have to cancel them, huh?"

Serena clenched her fists and slowly went through the breathing exercises Lita had taught her. This really wasn't what she needed today- to have to deal with Darien at school, and then again after school. _–I suppose it's not that bad-_ she tried to reason with herself _– My life's already a living Hell, why not turn up the heat some?-_ But still, to have to reason with such an arrogant, ignorant, mean, pancake faced, out of style, loser like Darien for more than was really needed just wasn't good. Serena could already feel the detrimental affects that being with him would have on her health.

"I guess so," she muttered through clenched teeth.

Darien laughed mockingly, and Serena scowled.

"Well then, I guess I'll see you this afternoon. Remember-"

"At the arcade, I know, I know!"

Without another word to her, Darien stood up and faced Motoki," Later Motoki. I've got to go help out in the Chem. labs at lunch today. See you 6th period."

Motoki nodded and turned to watch as Darien walked away. He then turned back to Serena, who was silently fuming. Ok, well, maybe not so silently.

"He's so infuriating! What a jerk, I mean, come on! Ugh! I just don't see how I'm going to be able deal with that loser after school! He'll probably only insult me anyway!"

Motoki put a hand on her shoulder and patter her head in a brotherly manner," Calm down Serena. Don't be so hard on Darien; he really is a nice guy."

Serena snorted and flipped a pigtail behind her shoulder in annoyance," Yea, about as nice as a pack of hungry woodchucks attacking a poor defenseless stick!"

"Actually Serena, woodchucks don't chuck wood!"

Serena jumped at the cheery voice from behind her. She turned to see Ami, who was smiling brightly and holding her bagged lunch. Standing besides her was Lita, who had decided that she'd had enough rest and relaxation. Serena put her hand to her chest and took deep, dramatic breaths.

"Jeez! Why is everyone trying to scare me today?" she whined," Whaddya want to do Ami, give me a heart attack?"

"Aw, poor baby," Lita cooed before sitting in the seat that Darien had previously occupied, the one in between Serena and Motoki. Ami came and sat down on Serena's other side and pulled out a tuna and spinach sandwich. Serena wrinkled her nose at the overly healthy piece of food, but knew how uptight Ami was about her brain-power meals. Much to Serena's surprise, instead of pulling out a book, Ami started up her tiny Sailor Mercury Super Computer, and began to type rapidly. Serena turned to Lita to talk, but she was already deep in conversation with Motoki, her no so secret crush. Motoki didn't seem to mind. With a sigh, she turned back to the blunette.

"So Ami…whatcha working on?"

Ami glanced up at her, and then dropped her eyes back to the computer screen. Serena winced inwardly, knowing how much Ami hated to be interrupted during her work. However, Ami soon replied with a secretive smile.

"Something that should make your problems a little easier," she whispered," you know, with the whole 'being grounded' thing."

"You mean you're hacking into the school's computer system and changing my grades?" Serena whispered back hopefully. Just then, Motoki and Lita turned to them. Ami only had time to send the blonde an "of course not" look, before launching into advice about a trigonometry problem Motoki was having trouble with. Serena sighed inwardly. _-I didn't think so-_ She thought. Certainly, she was interested in seeing what Ami had concocted for her, but just changing grades would be so much easier. She didn't know – Ami had this kind of honor system that she followed when it came to school that completely confused Serena.

Serena sat there at the lunch table as the world moved around her – talking, laughing, kissing, knowing, and moving so fast that she couldn't keep up. She sat there dejected, and, as the pangs of hunger eased in, wishing that she hadn't thrown out her pudding cup.

* * *

"What do you mean you're at the arcade?" Serena's mother screamed, causing the blonde to move the phone away from her ear and wince," You know you're grounded, but yet you defied my orders and then call to tell me about it? With that attitude of yours, you'd better not show up on the doorstep of my house ever again! Why-"

"Mama, let me explain!" Serena begged, clutching tighter to the phone with both hands," Darien… no Mom, my TUTOR… yes, him… well, anyway, Darien told me that he had some really important kendo meeting to go to right after school… yes Mama, he just found out about it, and he wanted me to wait here at the arcade so that we could meet up and then go to the library from there… to work, what else?... MOM! I just wanted to call and tell you that I'd be home a little later than usual… I didn't want you to worry or anything… alright Mom, I won't…yes Ma'am… ok, I love you too. Bye."

With a huge sigh, Serena pressed the "Off" button of the café phone and placed it back in its base. She turned to Motoki, who had been watching her anxiously from the counter. She slunk back to her usual bar stool.

"Thanks for letting me use the phone 'Toki," she said.

"No prob. So what did she say?"

"Well, first she was angry, but when I told her why I was here, she was a little better. However, I'm completely forbidden from playing any games, which is fine, because she revoked my allowance anyway and I'm completely broke."

Motoki nodded and smiled sympathetically," Oh… well, she didn't say anything about eating at the café, did she?"

Serena shook her head," No, but like I said, I don't have any money." She looked down at her stomach, and blushed as it gurgled loudly. Motoki just waved his hands in the air, and smiled like a magician about to pull a rabbit out of a hat. In one deft movement, he reached under the counter and pulled out a dessert glass, which was filled artfully with a sweet, chocolaty concoction that Serena had never seen before.

"What is it?" she said, admiring the whip cream top and chocolate sprinkles. Motoki grinned proudly.

"I call it the Strawberry Chocolate Swirl Shake, and I made it just for you. I was wondering if you'd be the first one to try it, seeing as it was inspired by you. And, it's free of charge!"

Serena's eyes lit up, as she took the spoon Motoki handed her and dove into the milkshake. She sighed with pleasure. _–This has gotta be Heaven!-_ Motoki laughed," I'm going to guess that's a sign of approval!"

Serena nodded, and took another bite, savoring the flavor. _–If this is Heaven, Motoki is definitely an Angel!-_ She finished it in no time flat.

"It's absolutely wonderful 'Toki!" she exclaimed as she swallowed the last bite,"Thanks!"

"I'm glad you liked it. You seemed like you needed a pick-me-up this afternoon," a concerned face set in," Are you sure everything's alright? There's nothing else wrong? I mean, besides your Darien troubles."

Serena smiled, hoping that it didn't look as forced as it felt," Yep, everything's fine."

"Positive?"

"Absolutely!" _-Not-_

Motoki laughed," Alright, I just wanted to make sure. Hey, I hope you don't mind, but I've got to go through a quick inventory in back. If anyone comes in, just yell for me, ok?"

"'Kay!"

He turned and went back into the supply room. As soon as the door swung shut, his smile vanished. Serena had improved her mood drastically from earlier that day, but he still wasn't convinced…

Serena sighed and sunk down in her chair as soon as the door Motoki had just entered swung shut. She felt bad about lying to Motoki, but honestly, what could she say? There was no way she could just tell him _"Of course I'm not fine. Besides Darien being the most infuriating human being on Earth, I've been grounded by mother because my grades have gone down, which really causes a problem to my already dwindling social life. And, oh yea, I'm secretly the superhero Sailor Moon, which means now I have to sneak out of the house to save the world and find some Princess that I've never met and battle some ancient evil that I've never hear of until now. Oh, and did I mention the fact that my cat can talk, and now hates me because I'm so incompetent?"_

_-No, I can't tell him that. So I just have to pretend like my life isn't in shambles. Joy.-_

Serena laid her head on the counter and looked out the glass doors of the arcade. It mad started raining while she and Motoki had been talking, and it didn't seem like it would let up anytime soon. The arcade was completely devoid of life besides her, something that almost never happened. Serena guessed that she probably wasn't the only one who had gotten grounded from going to the arcade. She looked at the clock. _5:30._ The second hand lurched forward at a painfully slow rate.

Darien had told her that he expected the meeting to only last an hour. If that was the case, he would have left the school around 5. It only took about 10 minutes to get from the High School to the Arcade. He should have left half an hour ago.

* * *

The clock read 6:15. Serena sat there at the counter, watching Motoki try and fix one of the blenders that had mysteriously stopped, well, blending. There had been no sign of Darien. She looked out to the streets, where the water from the ongoing rain was rushing into the storm drains. The rain came down in large drops, which occasionally splattered a passing car or the one or two walkers trying to stay dry under flimsy umbrellas. Other than that, it was absent of life.

The crackling sound of fried electronic equipment followed by a stream of curses roused Serena from her street ponderings. Smoke poured up from behind the counter, and Motoki rushed to the fire extinguisher. He pulled the safety latch and let loose a spray of foam onto the burning blender. He quelled the flames while Serena looked on, dumbfounded. With a final blast, he put the fire out, then turned to Serena with a sheepish smile.

"Uh, oops. I guess I shouldn't have messed with that."

Serena laughed halfheartedly," I guess not."

Motoki set down the fire extinguisher and, with impressive skill, jumped over the counter and landed on the stool next to Serena.

"Talk to me. There's something wrong, and it's no use trying to hide it."

Serena looked at the boy with wide, innocent looking eyes," Huh? I don't know what you're talking about Motoki."

"I think you do Serena. Look, whether you're going to tell me about it or not, just listen to what I say. Whatever happens, use your best judgment. Don't let him push you around – you should be the one in control."

"Motoki, what are you-"

"Listen to me! Love can be hard sometimes, but we all have to go through it. Don't let it bring you down though, you should be happy. If it's someone that's making you sad, he's not worth it."

"Toki I-"

"Not yet. Serena, I think of you like a sister, and let me tell you, if he ever tries anything inappropriate, you just tell me, and I'll talk to him. Everything should be done on your terms."

"That's not-"

"Now, these are older brothers Rules of Dating:" Motoki stuck up his index finger.

"One, neck down is of limits, with the exception of hands, otherwise I'll beat your date up. Two, the only kiss on the first few dates should be the good night kiss, and it should never be more than a few seconds long. Three, go to the movies with a group of friends, and don't you dare sit in back. Remember, Big Brother Toki will be watching. Four, never let him take you for sushi before you go ride roller coasters. I did that once and well… anyway! Five, never shove your tongue, i-

"Motoki, didn't need to hear that!" Serena yelled, covering her ears with her hands," I'm not having problems in love. In fact, I'm perfectly fine! See!" She smiled unconvincingly, her eyes going squinty and her cheeks turning red," There's nothing wrong with me!"

"I wouldn't say that Odango. Your face looks pretty messed up to me."

At 6:21 p.m., the glass doors slid closed behind Darien Shields.

Serena shot up from her seat, fists clenched, eyes on fire.

"You. Jerk." she started, her voice emotionless. She saw a hint of indecision in his eyes, and she knew that both Motoki and Darien knew what was about to come next. She took a deep breath.

"I'VE BEEN WAITING HERE SINCE FOUR P.M. FOR YOU TO SHOW UP! I LOST VALUABLE SLEEPING TIME JUST BECAUSE YOU DECIDED TO PUSH BACK THE TIME WE WERE SUPPOSED TO MEET! THEN-" she took another breath, for drama's sake," AND THEN, WHEN YOU FINALLY SHOW UP, TWO AND A HALF HOURS LATER, THE ONLY THING YOU CAN DO IS INSULT MY FACE!"

Darien blinked, and then retorted," My God Serena, you do realize that there is a fine for disturbing the peace by breaking the decibel level, right?" He looked around," And you know, most public places don't allow hyenas."

Motoki grabbed Serena and held her back by the arms while she desperately tried to lunge at Darien. He glared at his dark haired friend as the girl struggled.

"Don't make me kick you out Dare'" he said, threateningly. Darien sighed, and ran a hand through his hair," Sorry Motoki."

"Don't apologize to me, it should be to her."

Darien stared at his friend as if Motoki had suddenly sprouted a second mouth, then shook his head.

"At least explain to me why you were late," Serena mumbled, not wanting Motoki to threaten to throw her out of the arcade too.

Darien ran his hand through his hair again, a classic sign of agitation," Well, I got out of the meeting at five and started this way-"

"It doesn't take and hour to get here!" Serena exclaimed. Motoki tightened his grip on her arms as Darien glared daggers.

"Let me at least get started Odango," he said, clenching his teeth," Like I said, I was on my way, on the motorcycle, when I had to stop. There was an accident, which stopped all the cars. I was stuck in traffic forever. Then it started raining. I tried to get here as fast as I could, I was even thinking about ditching the bike, but I couldn't. It was at a standstill for over an hour," he sighed, and then did the most unbelievable thing," I'm sorry Serena. For being late."

Serena blinked, and nodded, confused. Motoki slowly let go of the girl, for she'd stopped struggling. She looked at Darien. He was drenched. His uniform hung from him with the weight of the water, and parts of his hair was plastered to his face, while other parts stuck up from him running his hand through it. He was breathing heavily, and had been when he had come in. Serena almost didn't hear Motoki's question because she was so busy observing the wet teen.

"Do you know what caused the accident?"

Darien sighed, and this time just pulled at his hair. He suddenly looked years older.

"A youma."

Both Serena and Motoki gasped, and stared at Darien.

"A youma had attacked the driver of a school bus and started to drain him of his energy. The bus, which had been moving, crashed. Fortunately, the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask showed up and stopped the youma before it killed that poor guy. And, doubly fortunate, no one else was injured, not even the children. However…"

"However?"

"The Scouts weren't able to finish off the youma, just chase it away. Sailor Jupiter showed up first, followed by Mercury and Mars, then Tuxedo Mask. They all fought really hard, but-"

"What about Sailor Moon?"

Darien looked over to Serena, who had asked the question. She was suddenly much paler, and in her eyes she held a concern, a worry, Darien had never seen before.

"She wasn't there."

Serena gulped and nodded silently, before going back to her stool and gathering her bag. She walked back over to where Motoki was drilling Darien for information.

"I guess we should probably go," she said, interrupting their conversation," I don't want to be any later getting home than I already am." She tried to act mad, but she had much more important things on her mind than an hour long study session. Like, why hadn't the Scouts called her? Was she really so useless that they didn't want her around? What did Tuxedo Mask think? Was Luna going to be mad at her?

"Yea, you're right. I don't want to have to hear you complain more than you already are." Darien retorted, grinning a little.

"Ha, ha, very funny. Come on, let's go. Bye Motoki, thanks for the awesome milkshake!"

Motoki smiled," No problemo. I guess it's kind of like that song, you know,' My milkshake brings all the girls to the yard, an-"

"Motoki!" Darien cut him off," No."

Serena looked up to the boy, who loomed over her almost a foot," What's wrong?" she asked," I like that song!"

"Well… it's just that… it has some bad connotations…" Darien said.

"Like what?"

Motoki laughed evilly," Well, you see Serena, when a man and a woman love each other very much-"

Darien glared at his friend," Motoki! Not here, not now, and not you."

Serena swore that Darien's cheeks were tinged with pink as he led her out of the arcade and away from the Milkshake Man.

* * *

"There is no way I am getting on this thing."

Darien stared at the blonde banshee as she did what she did best: complained. The two were out in front of the arcade in the pouring rain. It was already getting late, and they hadn't even started the tutoring, but what was the only thing Serena could focus on?

His motorcycle.

"Do you know how dangerous these things are Darien?" she asked, her blue eyes genuinely worried. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair; Serena had told him once told that the action would bald him by thirty, but it was a comforting habit he just couldn't seem to stop.

"Do you doubt my abilities as a driver?" he challenged her. Serena paused, and then, with a little hesitation, answered.

"Yes…"

"Look Odango, I've been riding myself to school for the past year on the motorcycle, and I've never gotten so much as a scratch on it! I swear I'll be even more careful than I normally am, you don't need to worry."

"I…still don't know…"

"It's either this, or walk to the library. Alone. In the rain. You'd better decide fast, because I'm not waiting here much longer, and I'm sure not going to drag you."

Serena looked from him to the bike and back to him, her indecision clear. Darien got on the bike and revved it up. He tossed the helmet to Serena.

"You have three seconds to decide: either you get on the bike and stop complaining, or I leave you and your soggy self right here."

"B-"

"Three…two…o-"

Serena threw her hands up in the air," Fine, fine! I'm coming!"

She put on the helmet, which by some miracle fit over her eccentric hairstyle, and then awkwardly climbed onto the back of the bike.

"Where do I hold on?" she asked, and Darien could tell from the tone of her voice that she already knew.

"Put your arms around my waist Odango, and hold on tight."

"O-"

Darien grinned and started up the bike; they zipped into the wet street at a breathtaking speed, and zoomed towards the library. He could hear Serena's strangled syllables as she tried to scream something, but even her Siren like pitches were no match against the roar of the speeding wind and rain. She grew quiet, but held even tighter to his waist, until she was practically clinging to him. Darien rolled his eyes, and sped up ever so slightly. The world rushed past him in an almost indistinguishable blur; all light, noises, colors, feelings, became one and all until there was nothing. It was a feeling Darien lived for, and enjoyed every time he started up his bike, even if he had to share that feeling with someone else. The only time he ever felt more exhilarated was when he was rushing to save Sailor Moon… something he had missed out on earlier that afternoon due to the fact that she had never shown up.

It was something he didn't understand: _How could Sailor Moon not appear? Why wasn't she there while the others were?_ There had never been a youma battle that occurred without Sailor Moon. She was almost like the active principle: in order for an event to occur, she had to be there, but she wasn't responsible for it. The last time he'd been near her was at the retirement home. Over two days. Darien felt for a moment like an over obsessive boyfriend. Not like he and Sailor Moon were a couple, although he wouldn't mind if that were the case. There was just something about her that was amazing, wonderful, attractive, and almost… loveable. No, she wasn't the smartest, or calmest, and there was no way that she was the most graceful of the girls that Darien had ever met, but that didn't matter. Sailor Moon had her own entire list of qualities that made her special, if not better.

"_Daaarrriiieennn…."_

Darien looked up, almost positive he heard someone call his name. He shook his head and focused again on the road, trying hard not to drift back into Darien La-La Land. He'd completely forgotten that he had a passenger until that passenger unwrapped one of her arms from around his waist and started to pound on his back to get his attention.

"_Daarriieen!" _Serena shrieked, her words distorted and elongated.

"What is it Meatball Head?" he yelled back, annoyed. She yelled something again, but it was whipped away by the wind.

"I can't hear you!" he yelled back, laughing slightly as he said it. To not be able to hear her was almost impossible. Serena rewrapped her arms around his waist tightly, then moved in as close as she could until her lips were only inches away from his ear. Only Sailor Moon had been that clo-

"_You missed the library you idiot!"_ she screamed. Darien blinked, the words taking a moment to sink in. Cursing as he realized what the girl had said, he sped up. There were no other vehicles on the street, so although it was illegal, he might just be able to…

Even at the high speed, Darien could hear Serena's scream as he sharply pulled a U-Turn. The motorcycle tipped precariously, and obviously too near to the ground for Serena's comfort. She exploded into another set of wails as Darien righted the bike and sped up.

"Shut it Odango!" Darien yelled, seriously fearing for the integrity of his ear drums," Or I swear I'll-"

"STOP!"

Darien braked, not fast enough to throw them over the handlebars, but just enough to send Serena slamming painfully into his back. The bike came to a full stop, right outside of the Public Library. Darien set his legs on the ground and rested for a moment, before trying to stand up. However, he was unable to, due to the fact that, although they had stopped moving, Serena was still clutching tightly to his midriff. The girl was breathing heavily, her head down and pigtails dripping.

"Odango, I know you like me, but there are other ways of showing affection besides clinging onto me for dear life. Trust me; I'm not going to disappear anytime soon."

Serena's head shot up, and she stared at him with furiously bright blue eyes. He could see her anger at him for everything he'd done to her today, and the remnants of fear from the wild ride. She flung her arms away from him and got off the bike, trying to put as much distance as she could between her and him.

"How dare you insinuate that I could possibly like **you**!" she yelled, at the top of her lungs," You-you're so mean! I bet you did all of that just to scare me, and I bet you enjoyed it to! You knew this was the first time I'd ever been on a motorcycle, and you-you!" she hastily took off her helmet, and threw it at him with surprisingly good aim. He managed to catch it before it took out his face.

Darien sighed and got off the bike. He set up the kickstand so that it wouldn't fall over while they were inside, then turned to Serena.

"I was just kidding. About you liking me. It was a joke, get it Odango? Ha ha. A joke," he smirked," Or are you too dense to realize that?"

Serena snorted," I realized you were joking, but still! Ugh! I wish you would disappear! You're such an antagonist!"

Darien blinked, slightly surprised," Well, I have to say Odango, while you suck in other subjects, your vocabulary of bad things to say about me has certainly flourished."

Serena just glared at him," Come on. I wanna get this over with so I can get home."

The two walked in silence up the stairs and into the cool, temporarilyquiet library.

* * *

"Alright, so, what's a pronoun?"

Serena let her head sink down to the hard, wooden, library table.

"Um…" she started," It's a thing…that…does stuff…"

Darien sighed, agitated," No, really? Come on Serena, we've been over this before!"

"Yea, I know," came her muffled reply. She blew some of her hair out of the way of her face," And I've been over the fact before that I can't do this! So, why don't we just call it quits for tonight and go home?"

She turned her head so that her chin was resting on the table, and she was able to stare up at him with big, blue, puppy dog eyes.

"My God Serena," Darien said, turning away from her bizarrely adorable expression," Don't give me that look. You look like you just came out of an episode of The Powerpuff Girls. Come on, focus!"

"I ca-an't!" she whined," I mean, come on, who can focus in this kind of atmosphere?"

Darien looked around. There were only a few other people in the library, and they were all preoccupied in their reading and searching. Other than the noise coming from Serena and Darien's constant arguments, the library was silent.

"Serena. Come on. We're in a library."

"I know…it's just hard to work."

"At least sit up and look like you're trying to improve your grades. Right now, you look like some poor abused rabbit who's been left all alone on the moon without a carrot."

Serena slowly sat up," That's how I feel too," she muttered. This was not going well. The only thing that the two had done since they sat down in the little corner was bicker. _–If grades were based on how well I could argue with the jerkwad-_ she thought sadly –_ I wouldn't have to be here right now.-_

"Alright, enough English. Let's work on some math. Now, your teacher said that you had started working on Trig Ratios."

"Huh?" Serena looked at him blankly.

"Trig ratios, you know, tangent, sine, cosine, triangles."

Serena pulled on a blonde pigtail," Oh, um yea. Trig rations. Like, sine equals hypoten…uh… that thing over the line and…"

"No wonder you're failing Geometry," he muttered. He got out a piece of paper and a pencil, and began to write out the trigonometry formulas. As soon as he was done, he shoved the paper at Serena.

"There."

"Ok…" Serena just stared at the paper, then at her geometry book, and then back to the paper," I don't think I'm gunna be able to remember all of this."

Darien reached over and snatched the paper back. He began to write again, and as he wrote, he spoke," Ok, well, you know what trig ratios do, right?" not waiting for an answer, he continued," You can use them in triangles to solve for angles and side lengths. You normally use them in right triangles, and that's all we're working with right now. So, what we want to do first is find how to calculate for tangent, cosine, and sine. You know the three parts of the triangle, the hypotenuse and the two legs…" Darien continued with his explanation, and watched as realization slowly crept onto the younger girl's face.

"Alright, so, for remembering the trig ratios, you can use this acronym: Some Old Hoe, Caught Another Hoe, Tripping On Asphalt. The first letter of each w-"

Darien was stopped by Serena's gut busting, tear jerking laughter. She was doubled over in her chair, laughing, he assumed, at the acronym he had made up to help her remember her trig functions. Darien glanced over to the old, overweight librarian, who was glaring over at their table unabashedly.

"Serena," he hissed, glancing up at the librarian again," Hush! In case you forgot, we're in a library!"

Serena tried to stifle her giggles," S-sorry, i-ha, it's just-hee-s-so funny I c-"

Darien clamped a hand over her mouth and kept it there until the girl regained most of her self control.

"I-I'm really sorry," she whispered, still laughing a little," It's just that, when you said that, I pictured in my head Miss Haruna tripping and, well… I know it's mean but, it's funny and-"

Serena stopped, surprised as Darien let out a bark of laughter, earning the table another reproving glare. He too tried to contain his laughter, and did more successfully than she.

"Tha-that is funny. I don't know why it never c-crossed my mind." he grinned and raised an eyebrow," But, the hoe part aside, I think it would be you who did the tripping."

"I'm not that clumsy!" Serena said defensively," I wouldn't trip on asphalt!"

"Remember all those times in Gym?" he started," Or that one time at the café when you tripped over your own pigtail, or the one time you fell onto the school superintendent because she was climbing up the stairs and you were falling down, or th-"

"Ok, ok, I get it! You're right…" Serena spat out the words, and then, added," But don't expect to agree with you again, because I won't!"

"Whatever you say," Darien muttered," klutzo."

"I HEARD THAT Y-"

She was cut off by Darien's hand fastened tightly over her mouth once again.

"Do I have to spell it out for you Odango?" he whispered," This is a library, and we are studying! This is no time to break out into screaming fit."

Serena crossed her arms stubbornly and leaned back in her seat, pouting.

"Fine. Sorry."

"Alright, now, start on your homework."

"Yes mother," she mumbled. With a reluctant sigh, she opened her geometry book, and began to start on the problems that had given her such trouble before. Her obnoxiously pink pencil moved across the page slowly. Every once and a while, her fingers tapped out something on the calculator. She was so focused on trying to finish that she didn't noticed eyes that glanced enviously over to their table. However, Darien did. He couldn't fail to see the boys, all together in a group on the far side of the library, staring and trying to act cool in order to gain the blonde's attention. Serena, invariably, had failed to even glance over in their direction. Now, they were openly watching her.

"Darien?"

Darien looked away from the observers.

"What is it Odango?"

"Will you, um…help me with this?"

Darien stood up, and moved over so that he could look over the girl's shoulder. Her paper was a mess of scraps and symbols, numbers barely legible.

"Jeez, can you even read that? Is it even in a language from this planet?"

"No, she replied bitterly," It's how the moon people write.

"I believe it. Okay, now, what's your problem?"

Serena pointed to the problem she was on, that was giving her trouble. As Darien tried to untangle her mess of numbers and symbols, he couldn't help but glance up at the clock. Only half an hour until he was free. He hoped he could last that long. Somehow he doubted it.

* * *

Serena hadn't protested at all about his motorcycle on the way back. In fact, she'd been unusually silent. The rain had let up, but the air was still heavy with the muggy sense that it might start up again. Darien hoped not; he'd had enough of the rain. The sun was nearing it's final moments, causing the clouds that hovered near it to turn a fiery red.

It wasn't until he felt a heavy object thud onto his back that he realized why Serena hadn't argued with him – she was exhausted, and now asleep. They had left the library right as the clock hit eight, with Serena fretting because her mother had expected her home over an hour ago, and that it was his fault because he'd been late in the first place. Her worry hadn't lasted long though, the weight of her head on his back proved that. Darien just hoped that she didn't drool on him.

It hadn't been _his_ fault that he'd been late.

Darien just hoped that nothing more happened, at least not when he was trying to work with Serena. He couldn't exactly explain his situation to her.

_Sorry Odango, but I'm not going to be able to tutor you today, due to the fact that I actually live a second life which involves running around in a mask and cape, jumping off of buildings, and saving other super heroines. Not to mention trying to find the Silver Millennium Crystal for this mysterious Princess whom I've never met but has been infiltrating my dreams for the past year and completely erasing any chance of me getting a decent night of sleep. Oh, and by the way, you can't mention this to anyone, because the Dark Kingdom and their youmas are everywhere thinking up of more ways to make my live miserable._

Well, not completely miserable. Without them, he would have never gotten to meet Sailor Moon, one of the prettiest, funniest, most amazing girls he'd ever met. The only other girl that could make him feel the way Sailor Moon did was now in the process of ignoring him…

He cursed as he passed a familiar house, then made a U-turn like he had before. _Need to stop doing that_, he thought as he stopped in front of the Tsukino residence. He hoped Serena would be tired enough not to notice the fact that she had never told him how to get to her house, let alone her address. He had seen her walking home from detention once, late in the evening, when he was out patrolling the city after an intense youma battle. He assumed that she must have stopped by the arcade to be getting home so late. Anyway, he had kept her address stored away, not knowing he would ever need to use it. Serena was still asleep on his shoulder.

"Odango. Odango." he hissed, shaking his shoulder slightly.

She moved a little, and muttered something," Edo…Ask…I…"

"Odango!" he said a little louder. The girl didn't respond, she was sleeping like a rock. _A very heavy rock,_ he thought grimly as he felt his shoulder slowly turn numb. He carefully turned around and caught her as her body jolted forward from the loss of something to lean on. She still snored lightly as he scooped her up awkwardly and carried her to her front doorstep. Finding himself without a hand to spare, he pressed his nose against the doorbell, then righted himself. After a minute or so, the door opened, and warm light spilled out from behind a confused looking face. A woman in an apron and slipped opened the door further and stepped back a little, spatula in hand.

"Um, Konnichi wa Tsukino-san," Darien muttered, tilting his head respectfully.

"You must be Darien," the woman started," Serena told me that you weren't her boyfriend! I knew I shouldn't have believed her. Smart boys are never that good looking!"

Darien could suddenly see who Serena's normally friendly nature came from. He blushed slightly as the woman, who looked rather young to be a mother, stared him over.

"No, no, it's true, I'm just her tutor," he said, shifting Serena's weight in his arms slightly," She fell asleep on the ride home. I apologize for keeping her later than expected, I was late to meet up with her so we didn't get started until seven and-"

"Would you like to come in for some tea?"

Darien blinked," Um, no, thank you Tsukino-san," he replied awkwardly," I really need to get home, I just wasted to drop Oda- Serena off."

"Please, call me Ikuko. You're positive that you and Serena aren't dating?"

Suddenly, Serena stirred, and opened her eyes blurrily. She blinked, and then screamed, jumping out of his arms and yelling something unintelligible. The only words he caught from her fit were," jerk" and "hate".

Ikuko delivered what seemed like a painful blow to the top of Serena's head with the spatula in her hand.

"Serena, be polite. He dropped you off. And you never told me that your tutor was so handsome."

"That's because he's not," she muttered. She hoisted her backpack up onto her shoulder and scowled at him.

"Well, whatever my daughter says, thank you for bringing her home. You really must come by for tea sometime. In fact, why don't you come by for dinner? I'm sure that my husband would like to talk to you about Serena's progress."

"Um…alright," Darien replied.

"How about next week? My husband gets off early that night and we can all have dinner, so that we can discuss how Serena's doing. Is Tuesday alright?"

"That'd be fine Tsukino-san, but really, I don't want to be an imposition-"

"No, no! Now, I'd best go in, I've got some food on the stove. Nice to meet you Darien. Serena, thank him for bringing you home."

"But m-"

"Now missy!" she wielded her spatula like a weapon, and Serena glared at both of them. She muttered something that resembled a thank you, and then ducked inside before her mother whacked her again. Ikuko smiled.

"Please forgive my daughter, she can be a little rude sometimes."

_You're telling me._

"It's fine," he replied," Nice to meet you Tsukino-san."

"Ikuko, please."

He nodded, and Ikuko closed the door. After a moment, he could hear her and Serena arguing, both of them yelling at the top of her lungs. He now knew who Serena inherited her lungs from. He turned with a sigh away from the Tsukino residence and hopped on his bike, praying to the powers that be not to send him another youma.

* * *

Eh bien, c'est tout mes amis! And for all of those who don't speak French, well, too bad! Anyway, this is the end of this chapter, made extra long for all of you guys! I'm so sorry it took so long to get out, everything's just been so busy! I really don't know how eightofswords does it! Hopefully I'll be able to post a little sooner, but there's no guarantees! Well, merci beaucoup! Read and review (heh heh, that rhymes)!

Thanks to: my readers. I have to say that I'm rather disappointed in you. Not those that reviewed of course, but those who didn't. Shame on you for making me cry. My self confidence shrinks in the shadow of mighty eightofswords. Many thanks to those seven who did love the story enough to review.

Eightofswords: Lol. You haven't been incoherent in a while. Miss you much, it seems like it's been forever. Oh, and congrats on 300+ reviews. I'm going to go hide behind my 25. Physics sucks! Anyway, thatnk so much for the support… who knows when the next one will come out, but hopefully it will be just as long, and maybe stand to compare to chapter two!

SilentAngel101: Hey! Thanks, it's nice to be called brilliant every once and a while. Yes, anime never has followed the rules of genetics…thanks so much for the support!

Princess-nav- Thanks…here the update is, know not when the next one comes.

nekoinuhanyou- Awesome name! As for the drole… is that drole in the funny sense or drole in the sarcastic sense? I'm sorry, horrible at telling. Either way, thanks for reviewing!

keishaq- Arigato!

Chibi-Doo- Well, whatever Ami does, it'll be big! As for the communicator, I think they can… and if not, I utilize the power of the AUTHORESS! BWA! Lol…sorry…thanks!

elianthos- cool name! Thanks so much! Of course, thanks to Sword-chan too!

Well, as the final note (I know you guys loooovvee hearing me rant), I really like this story so far. I think that the Serena/Darien pairing is the only way to be. I think that Serena's personality is so much easier to portray than Darien's, because with Darien, there are more blanks to fill in. I hope I'm doing alright. I know I've been portraying him as a total jerk and Tux. as somewhat of a love struck obsessor…hopefully they'll meet in middle someday. Until then, enjoy the conflict! .

RR


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